April is a month for celebrations! Not only because it is the month that Easter usually falls into, but also because it’s St. Georges day on the 23rd, which has been celebrated since the 9th century. Continuing my series, this article delves into the colours of April.
April is the second month of the Roman calendar, as the winter months were not given names, since they weren’t relevant to the agricultural year. Uarius and Februarius were later added by King Numa Pompilius in around 700 BC.
The traditional origin of the word April is thought to be from the Latin word ‘Aprilis’, derived from the word ‘aperio’ meaning to open, which sums up what April stands for, as spring brings nature into full bloom. Another entomology of the word could be from the Greek Aphrodite, the Goddess of love, beauty, and procreation.
It is a month of sparkle, given that the April birthstone is the Diamond, known for its elegance, brilliance and durability. A fun fact about Diamonds is that they have the highest hardness and thermal conductivity of any natural material, which make them a perfect symbol for the ever-enduring Spring season.
You can watch Anita paint this Diamond using Metallic and Interference Watercolours here
To me, the colours of April are Pink and White, as nature adds more pastel shades to its palette during this month. Plus, in April, the full moon is called a pink moon. The moon is important in many cultures to enable the tracking of the seasons and the emergence of warmer weather. The naming of the moons can be traced back to the Native Americans, and the pink moon is named after the native pink phlox flowers (mostly found in North America during April).
The birth flowers for April are highly fragrant, colourful, climbing Sweet Pea (Lathyrus odoratus) in varying shades of pink, whites, violets and blues, and the common Daisy (Bellis Perennis) which close their tiny white petals at night and reopen as the sun comes up in the morning.
You can watch Anita create Daisies in Unison pastels on our Video on Demand site here.